Japan: Courts and Culture at the Queen’s Gallery by Lucien de Guise 8

on display does give the impression of being from this sought-after genre; an archer’s quiver with a gold cross highlighted on a red lacquer background. This is the heraldic emblem of one of Japan’s lordly families, but unfortunately had been first used long before Christianity arrived. The Shimazu clan had once welcomed Catholic priests to their Satsuma stronghold, only to turn against them later. Rather than having any religious significance, the quiver is just one of many examples of martial art on display.

Other items are so filled with whimsical charm – such as an incense burner in the shape of an ox – that they would surely have been admired anywhere they ended up. Craftsmanship has always been a serious business in East Asia, but not without occasional humour. The material collected by the British royal family has often taken the form of official gifts, which makes these items a bit less wry on the whole. The first recorded gift was in 1613. This complete set of armour would have been a very meaningful gesture of goodwill from the Japanese Shogun to King James I of England. Later, such armour was used by artists to represent the oppression of Catholics in the British Isles as the authorities in Japan began to persecute missionaries from Spain and Portugal along with a large number of converts among their own people.

The British and the Japanese shared a keen interest in arms and armour, although most of the Royal Collection is more pacific. Colour was what Europe craved, provided by the extravagant ceramics of East Asia. Equally popular was the subtly opulent palette of lacquer wares. Gold on black was such a favourite in Western Europe that generations of French and English

craftsmen were set to copying its discreet opulence. The finest lacquer objects were so highly valued in Japan that export licences were required and seldom granted. Although there are some wonderful examples of lacquer chests in the Royal Collection, the supreme example that exists outside Japan is actually in the Victoria and Albert Museum, opened of course in 1857 by Queen Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother. The keenest Western hoarder of Japanese lacquer was the chief minister to Louis XIII of France. Although Cardinal Mazarin was perhaps the richest man in Europe, collecting restricted exports was as much about connections as money. The Cardinal’s lacquer chest in the V&A was the largest item of Japanese master craftsmen’s labour to slip through the shogun’s net. Centuries later, after appreciation of this art had been A colourful kendi drinking vessel tarnished by tawdry European copies, the Mazarin chest from the late 17th century was labelled as being Chinese and used as a television stand before ending up in South Kensington. Despite one or two omissions, the Royal Collection has ended up with a glorious diversity of Japan’s greatest aesthetic triumphs. From the huge screens that provided privacy and colour in drab and draughty samurai castles, to the tiniest netsuke toggles, the full spectrum of Japanese art is on display. Among the less obvious elements, presumably because they were low-budget disposable merchandise, are the ukiyo-e woodblock prints that fascinated the likes of Van Gogh and Monet. Not as Christian as it looks, this lacquer arrow quiver has a clan crest that bears a coincidental resemblance to a cross

Lacquer wares were a favourite of the flamboyant George IV. This cabinet was made in Japan circa 1640-90

Japan: Courts and Culture is an assemblage with a regal flavour. As with the concept of monarchy itself, this exhibition takes the long view – and there is no country with a longer dynastic history than Japan.

Images © L de Guise, courtesy of the Royal Collection

St Bernadette – Why Now?

Fr Andrew Gallagher

The relics of St Bernadette will be visiting England, Wales and Scotland in September and October 2022, starting with their visit to Westminster Cathedral Saturday 3 – Monday 5 September. But after 154 years of pilgrims visiting Lourdes, why has the decision now been made for the relics of St Bernadette to visit us?

The shrine of Lourdes is well known as a place of healing. Even during the time of the apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette, physical miracles began to be associated with the spring that had been uncovered, and soon after miracles began to be seen, linked to the Eucharistic processions that took place there. Lourdes is also a place of spiritual healing in answer to the call of Mary that we should go to that place for ‘penance, penance, penance’. So many who have visited Lourdes out of curiosity have discovered faith whilst on pilgrimage there. And anyone who has visited Lourdes as a pilgrim will also recognise that it is a place where we receive healing in so many other ways – for many it is a place where we rediscover God’s love, through being cared for or caring for others, and witnessing the weakest always being put at the centre of everything that happens there.

Following the last few difficult years journeying through the Covid pandemic, and as we continue that journey through suffering its economic and other social consequences, we are all in a time of needing healing. The authorities in Lourdes have recognised that for many who would traditionally travel to Lourdes, due to their increased frailty and the inability to afford to travel, this is not possible at this time. And so, the visit of the relics of St Bernadette around the world is an opportunity for Lourdes to come to us. This visit, in the person of St Bernadette, is particularly appropriate for us in these times, as she was herself someone who was in need of healing.

Much of her youth was spent separated from her family. As a young girl, after her mother had an accident and was unable to feed her, she was sent away from her family for some time to the village of Bartres, and later she returned there to look after sheep in the fields overlooking Lourdes. Her father also spent some time in prison, accused of stealing flour from the mill in which he worked. Bernadette grew up living in poverty. Lourdes was not a wealthy area, and for some time her family were so poor, that they lived in one room in an abandoned prison, struggling to find food each day. On the day that Bernadette first saw Mary at the grotto of Massabielle, she was collecting wood to keep her family warm through the winter months from the side of the river.

The Reliquary of St Bernadette in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Lourdes

She risked ridicule for her faith. When she first returned home, and spoke of seeing a lady in white, she was told off by her family and told not to tell anyone her lies. When she later spoke to the local priest, he also refused to believe her. And later when she joined the religious life, even some of her fellow sisters were cruel to her out of jealousy. But despite the humiliation she must have felt, Bernadette stayed faithful to what she had seen, and continued to try and reveal the message she had been given to those around her.

She also suffered ill-health throughout her life. From a young age, she had asthma and she was often sick, which left her well behind her peers in her studies. When she was seeking to join a religious order, the superiors were warned that she would become a ‘pillar of the infirmary’, and this was proved true as, throughout her time in the convent, she suffered from tuberculosis, right until her death at the age of 35. Bernadette knew what it meant to suffer, and spent many hours in her sick bed, separated from her family and dedicating her time to prayer.

In a time when we need healing from all that has afflicted us over the last few years, there can be no better role model of faithfulness and trust than St Bernadette. We pray that the visit of her relics to our country and this Cathedral may be a source of renewal for our faith and a reminder to us of God’s love for all those who suffer and are weak in our world, and his constant desire for all of us to find healing through him and in him. Fr Andrew, formerly Precentor of the Cathedral, is also Assistant Director of the Westminster Lourdes Pilgrimage.